Riza you have no idea just HOW MUCH this article means to me. Thank you so, so, SO!! much for taking the time to share my journey with your audience. Exactly as you said: "A real human being. Not a content machine." I find it sooo important that people show up as their true authentic selves. That's how we connect with each other, that's how we learn from each other, that's how we truly build relationships. 🙏🏻❤️
Alicia, reading this genuinely made my day!! 🥹 I'm SO glad it landed the way it did because honestly, writing it gave ME energy too. Your growth has been one of the most inspiring things I've witnessed since coming to Substack. Real talk, it gave me hope. Like actual, tangible hope that building something real still works.
And the fact that you just show up as yourself, no performance, no mask, no algorithm-chasing version of Alicia, that's exactly what makes me want to keep reading everything you write. You feel like a real friend here, and that's rare.
I'm genuinely learning from you. The way you've built this in such a short time, just by being completely yourself, is something I think about a lot. I hope your story reaches as many people as possible and lights something up in them too. If this article helps even a few more people discover you and restack it so others can be inspired the same way I was, that would make me incredibly happy. ❤️
This is such a good reminder that people don’t only connect with what you know. They connect with how honestly you can bring your experience into the room. The thing that feels ordinary to you might be the exact reason someone trusts your voice.
I loved this article. I was just thinking today about how when I was a goldsmith in my first career, customers would sometimes ask me to leave a tiny flaw in my handmade pieces. Something that showed that this was special, that it was handmade specifically for them.
I've programmed Claude with my voice and life story, but I'm getting so bored with the outputs lately as they just aren't human enough. Interesting how we are starting to swing to the other side after initially loving the way we could produce polished pieces of writing.
That story about your customers was so interesting!
Yeah Sofia, totally. I didn't think it would happen this fast either! Even though AI can keep getting better and better at mimicking the tone. But at the end of the day, you know what? We’re human! More than words and scenarios, we connect with "feeling." We feel that energy.
That's exactly what makes a piece of writing soulful or soulless! It’s the same with videography too. Remember when video creators used to go crazy with all those effects? Now, the rawer it is, the more engaging it gets!
I found the exact same thing with Claude regarding the writing - when I put in a piece of my own writing and giving it guidance on my tone it still just flattens it.
I love the goldsmith example. That tiny flaw is such a good way to explain what feels missing sometimes. Perfect can be impressive, but it’s often the human parts that make something feel real and worth connecting with.
Thanks Sara. I was always a perfectionist so it was difficult for me to leave a flaw even if it was tiny, but I got over it until social media where I once again felt I needed to be perfect. AI has actually helped me get over that now and Substack has been a great therapist.
Thank you for this post, I needed to hear this today! It feels risky to stay true to yourself and be open about your emotions but its the biggest weapon in standing out.
Yeah, it feels risky because the social media trains us to be generic. Being a polished copy of someone else feels safe!
But no one can compete with someone who is just being themselves. Vulnerability isn't just a nice trait, it is an actual unfair advantage in business. 👌
I just stumbled across this article and halfway through reading hit subscribe...you could be describing me. I post 2/3 times a day and have done for years and yet people don't know me. Thank you.
That realization hits hard, but it is the most important turning point. We are taught that volume equals connection. So we just keep turning up the volume, not realizing that people are tuning us out because it just sounds like noise.
You don't need to post 3 times a day anymore. You just need to drop the armor and let them see the actual human behind the keyboard.
Glad you found your way here.
By the way, commenting and building connections in Substack helps a lot! keep reading others work and leave your real comments there. This is how people will find you in early stages! (it works way better than posting multiple times a day!)
What an 'ahhhh, yes' relaxing read. I have a whopping 48 subscribers and that's ok and I honor each one; I know they want to be there and hear my stories and thoughts on becoming more of your Self not from a coaching perspective but a lived journey perspective. Yes, I've been in the field of Wellness/Healing Arts for decades but, at least right now, I'm not talking about tools but of being more alive and aware. Interesting times. Thanks for the article. :)
Coming from LinkedIn, Google, etc and using that as positioning is like fishing with dynamite. I would do it too. 🤷
Every entrepreneur is her audience. All the other details matter and they’re good points… but many are doing those things without nearly as much success.
it would have been relatively easy for @alicia to base everything off LinkedIn heritage but somehow for me the counter vibe of vulnerability just works
Hi Riza. It sounds like authentic expression is important to you so hopefully this lands with you as constructive feedback..
The post sounds AI generated to me and it doesn’t come across with your personality. When I read the comments I can feel your aliveness because you’re connecting with a real human.
So in your post I would have loved to have seen and felt that same enthusiasm. And less AI phrasing.
The comments are usually where my real voice comes through strongest, so this is a useful reminder to bring more of that same aliveness into the posts themselves.
Thank you so much, I love discovering new account in the same journey as me and I found so fascinating women dealing with Solopreneur and also remaining extremely emotional intelligent not compromising with “what business is supporre to be”
The terrified to hit publish line is the tell. The posts that cost the writer something to share are almost always the ones worth reading. The ones that cost nothing to produce are the ones that cost nothing to forget. Most creators optimized for the second category and wonder why the engagement feels hollow.
Action: Find the post you've been sitting on because it feels too exposed — publish it before you rewrite it into something safer. The version that scared you is almost always the version worth sending.
restacked. I saw her live with @sinemgunel - and loved the interaction and also the great questions Alicia asked as well - the very thing that makes an interview interesting.
I actually missed that live session, but I can totally imagine the dynamic.
Sinem’s work is top tier! her newsletter is practically a masterclass on how to actually build things the right way. I need to go track down the recording of that live!
Riza you have no idea just HOW MUCH this article means to me. Thank you so, so, SO!! much for taking the time to share my journey with your audience. Exactly as you said: "A real human being. Not a content machine." I find it sooo important that people show up as their true authentic selves. That's how we connect with each other, that's how we learn from each other, that's how we truly build relationships. 🙏🏻❤️
Alicia, reading this genuinely made my day!! 🥹 I'm SO glad it landed the way it did because honestly, writing it gave ME energy too. Your growth has been one of the most inspiring things I've witnessed since coming to Substack. Real talk, it gave me hope. Like actual, tangible hope that building something real still works.
And the fact that you just show up as yourself, no performance, no mask, no algorithm-chasing version of Alicia, that's exactly what makes me want to keep reading everything you write. You feel like a real friend here, and that's rare.
I'm genuinely learning from you. The way you've built this in such a short time, just by being completely yourself, is something I think about a lot. I hope your story reaches as many people as possible and lights something up in them too. If this article helps even a few more people discover you and restack it so others can be inspired the same way I was, that would make me incredibly happy. ❤️
I will raise and go all in.
⬇️🃏♣️♦️♥️
Just going to say that being the authentic you is the best competitive advantage an online creator has.
The faceless AI creators will never resonate as deeply with readers or create a community like real personalities do in the cyberspace.
Simply because people vibe with people.
🤜✨️🤛
I agree!!!
This is such a good reminder that people don’t only connect with what you know. They connect with how honestly you can bring your experience into the room. The thing that feels ordinary to you might be the exact reason someone trusts your voice.
Exactly Sara! @Alicia Teltz now has over 2K subscribers! almost 600 new in a week! That great!
I loved this article. I was just thinking today about how when I was a goldsmith in my first career, customers would sometimes ask me to leave a tiny flaw in my handmade pieces. Something that showed that this was special, that it was handmade specifically for them.
I've programmed Claude with my voice and life story, but I'm getting so bored with the outputs lately as they just aren't human enough. Interesting how we are starting to swing to the other side after initially loving the way we could produce polished pieces of writing.
That story about your customers was so interesting!
Yeah Sofia, totally. I didn't think it would happen this fast either! Even though AI can keep getting better and better at mimicking the tone. But at the end of the day, you know what? We’re human! More than words and scenarios, we connect with "feeling." We feel that energy.
That's exactly what makes a piece of writing soulful or soulless! It’s the same with videography too. Remember when video creators used to go crazy with all those effects? Now, the rawer it is, the more engaging it gets!
Oh, yes, the videos. I remember. :)
Yes!😅👍
I found the exact same thing with Claude regarding the writing - when I put in a piece of my own writing and giving it guidance on my tone it still just flattens it.
I love the goldsmith example. That tiny flaw is such a good way to explain what feels missing sometimes. Perfect can be impressive, but it’s often the human parts that make something feel real and worth connecting with.
Thanks Sara. I was always a perfectionist so it was difficult for me to leave a flaw even if it was tiny, but I got over it until social media where I once again felt I needed to be perfect. AI has actually helped me get over that now and Substack has been a great therapist.
Thank you for this post, I needed to hear this today! It feels risky to stay true to yourself and be open about your emotions but its the biggest weapon in standing out.
Yeah, it feels risky because the social media trains us to be generic. Being a polished copy of someone else feels safe!
But no one can compete with someone who is just being themselves. Vulnerability isn't just a nice trait, it is an actual unfair advantage in business. 👌
Glad the post hit at the right time.
Wow - This was a keeper of an Article. Thank you so much!
That genuinely means a lot, Lee. Alicia’s piece touched something real, so I wanted to do it justice. I’m really glad it landed for you.
I did indeed, it was awesome.
I just stumbled across this article and halfway through reading hit subscribe...you could be describing me. I post 2/3 times a day and have done for years and yet people don't know me. Thank you.
Welcome to the room, Ewan! :)
That realization hits hard, but it is the most important turning point. We are taught that volume equals connection. So we just keep turning up the volume, not realizing that people are tuning us out because it just sounds like noise.
You don't need to post 3 times a day anymore. You just need to drop the armor and let them see the actual human behind the keyboard.
Glad you found your way here.
By the way, commenting and building connections in Substack helps a lot! keep reading others work and leave your real comments there. This is how people will find you in early stages! (it works way better than posting multiple times a day!)
What an 'ahhhh, yes' relaxing read. I have a whopping 48 subscribers and that's ok and I honor each one; I know they want to be there and hear my stories and thoughts on becoming more of your Self not from a coaching perspective but a lived journey perspective. Yes, I've been in the field of Wellness/Healing Arts for decades but, at least right now, I'm not talking about tools but of being more alive and aware. Interesting times. Thanks for the article. :)
Yeah 48 people choosing to sit in a room and listen to your actual life is a massive audience!
The coaching perspective often puts the writer on a pedestal. The lived journey puts you right next to the reader in the trenches.
That is where the real resonance happens. Glad the article hit home, Suzanne. :)
Coming from LinkedIn, Google, etc and using that as positioning is like fishing with dynamite. I would do it too. 🤷
Every entrepreneur is her audience. All the other details matter and they’re good points… but many are doing those things without nearly as much success.
Yeah, the positioning definitely opens the first door.
But plenty of people have big brand credibility and still feel dead on the page!
The vulnerability is what makes people stay.
Help.
it would have been relatively easy for @alicia to base everything off LinkedIn heritage but somehow for me the counter vibe of vulnerability just works
Yeah, she could have built the whole thing on credibility alone.
But credibility gets attention. Vulnerability gets trust!
That is the real difference. 😉
Hi Riza. It sounds like authentic expression is important to you so hopefully this lands with you as constructive feedback..
The post sounds AI generated to me and it doesn’t come across with your personality. When I read the comments I can feel your aliveness because you’re connecting with a real human.
So in your post I would have loved to have seen and felt that same enthusiasm. And less AI phrasing.
Thank you for saying it this directly, Samantha.
I actually think that is fair feedback.
The comments are usually where my real voice comes through strongest, so this is a useful reminder to bring more of that same aliveness into the posts themselves.
I appreciate the honesty🤝
Thank you so much, I love discovering new account in the same journey as me and I found so fascinating women dealing with Solopreneur and also remaining extremely emotional intelligent not compromising with “what business is supporre to be”
Glad you connected with it, Alice.
Yeah the old model of "leave your emotions at the door to do business" is completely broken anyway.
The emotional intelligence is actually the infrastructure that makes the business sustainable. Without it, you just burn out..
Couldn’t agree more! Emotional resonance is the new value
Yeah exactly 👌
The terrified to hit publish line is the tell. The posts that cost the writer something to share are almost always the ones worth reading. The ones that cost nothing to produce are the ones that cost nothing to forget. Most creators optimized for the second category and wonder why the engagement feels hollow.
Action: Find the post you've been sitting on because it feels too exposed — publish it before you rewrite it into something safer. The version that scared you is almost always the version worth sending.
This is a masterclass in dissecting content!!
"The ones that cost nothing to produce are the ones that cost nothing to forget" is the most accurate definition of cheap viral content. 👌
Beautifully said.
restacked. I saw her live with @sinemgunel - and loved the interaction and also the great questions Alicia asked as well - the very thing that makes an interview interesting.
Appreciate the restack, Jen!
I actually missed that live session, but I can totally imagine the dynamic.
Sinem’s work is top tier! her newsletter is practically a masterclass on how to actually build things the right way. I need to go track down the recording of that live!
Highly recommend. It’s worth the watch. (And I rarely watch replays…)
Yeah, sure!
Thank you so much for writing this piece! For introducing us to Alicia.
I want to see less “send a note X times a day and do thus and such"—and more real humans.
Yeah. The internet is flooded with robotic growth hacks and posting schedules right now..
But people don't subscribe to a schedule. They subscribe to resonance.
Glad you enjoyed the piece, Daleen!
I did, very much. And it reminded me not to veer away from the one core value I have always lived by—to be myself.
It is the only strategy that actually scales, Daleen.
You can fake a persona for a few months, but you can't fake it for a decade.
Being yourself is the ultimate defense against burnout. Keep doing exactly that.🤝
Hey Alicia.
I really liked your post and writing style. Showing vulnerability is absolutely what it’s about🤔 that and engaging and such a great topic.
Who does not want to grow on Substack! Let’s grow together ;)
Alicia definitely set the gold standard for that kind of vulnerability.
Appreciate you dropping in, Nat.
Building a quiet, profitable space together is exactly why we are all here! 👋